John Muir was just 11 when his family moved from Scotland to Wisconsin in 1849–building a home in Marquette County, midway between Wisconsin Dells and Oshkosh.
“We settled in a fine wild region, beside a small glacier lake [Ennis Lake] bordered with white pond-lilies,” Muir wrote. He immediately fell in love with the local landscape, which launched him on a path to preserve the country’s history.
Muir briefly studied natural sciences at the University of Wisconsin before dropping out to spend a lifetime enrolled in what he called “the University of Wilderness.”
RELATED: What was John Muir like as a Badger student? UW-Alumni Answer
The last 25 years of Muir’s life were the conservationist’s busiest: he created the Sierra Club, successfully lobbied for the creation of Yosemite National Park, and persuaded President Teddy Roosevelt to put government funding towards the preservation of America’s most beautiful lands.
Travel Wisconsin assembled a road trip that takes nature lovers through the parts of Wisconsin that inspired John Muir most. Here’s the route.
MORE: Madeline Island & More – Wisconsin’s Coolest Natural Wonders
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